SF Homeless Street Retreat
Donation protected
Hello,
August 4-7th i will be participating, with ten other people, in a Street Retreat, bearing witness to San Francisco's homeless, through the auspices of Upaya Zen Center and the Zen Peacemakers Order.
The retreat will begin by stringing a mala/rosary, with beads representing each one of our sponsors, that we will wear while living on the street, as a member of the homeless community. The entire mala represents our community of support. Will you please be a part of my community?
As part of the experience, we are required to extend our begging bowl to you, inviting offerings, which will be donated to the social service and non-profit agencies supporting our lives, and the homeless on the street. No amount is too small. $.25, $.50, $1.00, $5, $10, $20....
A minimum $500 is requested for my participation. It is required to come from others, as part of the experience of how it feels to have to beg for help.
We will be joining the homeless, living in the street, with only our true nature and your support, experiencing homelessness first hand, having to beg for money, forage for food, water, find shelter, bathrooms and safety. We will show up with only $1 in our pocket and a blanket.
Bearing witness in this way, we will see our prejudices and recognise our interconnectedness. Bearing witness in this way is not about voyeurism or intellectual curiosity. It's about dropping the self while becoming present to all things, opening to our common vulnerability. We are all one step, one crisis, away from being homeless.
Bearing witness is a process of opening our selves to the suffering of all beings. On the street retreat, we will sit with the reality of homelessness, bearing witness to all the complexities of the issues. We will be practicing with intimacy and what blocks our connection with the suffering we witness. We will strive to respond with all that we encounter with an open heart, strong back and don't know mind, suspending judgement while meeting first hand, with equanimity, the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
Please check out KQED's profound SF Homeless Project special segment that ran on public television this past month, for more insight into homelessness. ww2.kqed.org
Post retreat, i will share my experience and reflections with you. This retreat will help inform my efforts in becoming a more effective community activist and volunteer.
All your offerings will be gathered together and sent to Upaya Zen Center, who will then distribute the funds to agencies supporting the San Francisco homeless community.
Your offerings may be made here, through GoFundMe, or by mailing a check to me. The retreat starts in two weeks, August 4th.
"When we go...to bear witness to life on the streets, we're offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not cloths, just ourselves." - Bernie Glassman, Bearing Witness Retreats and Zen Peacemaker Order.
On bended knee, with deep, profound gratitude for your support, i am,
mary desJardins
August 4-7th i will be participating, with ten other people, in a Street Retreat, bearing witness to San Francisco's homeless, through the auspices of Upaya Zen Center and the Zen Peacemakers Order.
The retreat will begin by stringing a mala/rosary, with beads representing each one of our sponsors, that we will wear while living on the street, as a member of the homeless community. The entire mala represents our community of support. Will you please be a part of my community?
As part of the experience, we are required to extend our begging bowl to you, inviting offerings, which will be donated to the social service and non-profit agencies supporting our lives, and the homeless on the street. No amount is too small. $.25, $.50, $1.00, $5, $10, $20....
A minimum $500 is requested for my participation. It is required to come from others, as part of the experience of how it feels to have to beg for help.
We will be joining the homeless, living in the street, with only our true nature and your support, experiencing homelessness first hand, having to beg for money, forage for food, water, find shelter, bathrooms and safety. We will show up with only $1 in our pocket and a blanket.
Bearing witness in this way, we will see our prejudices and recognise our interconnectedness. Bearing witness in this way is not about voyeurism or intellectual curiosity. It's about dropping the self while becoming present to all things, opening to our common vulnerability. We are all one step, one crisis, away from being homeless.
Bearing witness is a process of opening our selves to the suffering of all beings. On the street retreat, we will sit with the reality of homelessness, bearing witness to all the complexities of the issues. We will be practicing with intimacy and what blocks our connection with the suffering we witness. We will strive to respond with all that we encounter with an open heart, strong back and don't know mind, suspending judgement while meeting first hand, with equanimity, the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
Please check out KQED's profound SF Homeless Project special segment that ran on public television this past month, for more insight into homelessness. ww2.kqed.org
Post retreat, i will share my experience and reflections with you. This retreat will help inform my efforts in becoming a more effective community activist and volunteer.
All your offerings will be gathered together and sent to Upaya Zen Center, who will then distribute the funds to agencies supporting the San Francisco homeless community.
Your offerings may be made here, through GoFundMe, or by mailing a check to me. The retreat starts in two weeks, August 4th.
"When we go...to bear witness to life on the streets, we're offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not cloths, just ourselves." - Bernie Glassman, Bearing Witness Retreats and Zen Peacemaker Order.
On bended knee, with deep, profound gratitude for your support, i am,
mary desJardins
Organizer
Mary Desjardins
Organizer
Portola Valley, CA